Capital punishment is an extremely controversial topic in the United States. About 60% of citizens are in favor of capital punishment and 40% are against it, according to Pew Research. I tend to side with the 60% in favor because the death penalty lowers the murder rate and serves appropriate justice for this horrible crime. I recognize that there are some valid arguments against the death penalty; however, on balance, I support the use of capital punishment for those criminals who are convicted of murder.
In the Bible, Matthew says in 5:38, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew tells us it is only fair that, if a criminal murders someone, then that criminal should lose his own life as an equal punishment. Hammurabi agrees with Matthew that an eye for an eye, or in our case, capital punishment is the appropriate response for the crime of murder.
Homeless people who live in a state with no death penalty can kill another person and find themselves in a better situation than before with a roof over their head, a bed, and meals every day. However, if one lives in a state with capital punishment, there is no incentive for committing murder because one will also die.
The death penalty brings final closure for the victim’s family and friends – knowing that the criminal has lost his own life and will never have an opportunity to harm anyone ever again.
Furthermore, capital punishment will stop violent crimes like murder because the punishment is extremely severe. Some potential killers would be prompted to stop committing murder because they would not want to lose their own life; this will lead to a more peaceful community and would keep some potential murderers from committing the crime. According to ProCon.Org, “Kenneth Allen McDuff was convicted and sentenced to death in 1966 for the murders of three teenagers and the rape of one. However, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty nationwide in 1972 (Furman v. Georgia), leading to a reduced sentence and McDuff being released on parole in 1989. An estimated three days later, he began a crime spree: torturing, raping, and murdering at least six.” This is unacceptable for a state’s judicial system to let a man go, just to do more and kill more than what he did for going to jail in the first place.
Some people argue that the death penalty has racial bias – there could definitely be racism in these cases, but if the country can find a way to make it as non racial as possible it will change the trajectory of the death punishment and it will make it more humane. People also argue that it is a human rights violation, however, it is not because the criminals violated human rights by killing someone. Thus, they deserve to die and not get bailed out for killing someone.
There are a lot of opinions against the death punishment. I say to these people why do you support a murderer? I believe they deserve capital punishment because they killed someone.
While it is not an easy issue, I am in favor of the death penalty because it stops future crime and serves equal justice to murderers. Without capital punishment, the victim’s family can never be at ease knowing the murderer is still alive. There is also a chance that the murderer escapes or is released and commits additional crimes which is comparable to what happened in the case of Kenneth Allen McDuff. For these reasons, I am in favor of capital punishment in the United States.
